Flood fence and gate



(ModeL) J. A. CLARK.

FLOOD FENCE AND GATE.

Patented Oct. 24, 1882.

Win/eases.

Usirrs rates ATENT rrrcno JOSIE A. CLARK, OF LOOUST GROVE, OHIO.

FLOOD FENC E AND GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,430, dated October 24, 1882.

Application filed MayQS, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSIE A. CLARK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Locust Grove, in the county of Adams and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flood Fences and Gates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malte'and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure l of the drawings is a front view of my improved flood-fence. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of one of the sections; and Fig. 3 is an end view of the fence, showing one down in dotted lines.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in that class of flood gates or fences in which the panels or gates are laid down or over by the force of the strcarrr, and are prevented by the moorings from being carried away; and it consists in providing a gate or panel of a fence with a slotted stirrup, which is attached to the lower rail of the panel or section.

My invention also consists in w ighting the lower rail of the gate with a weight, which also forms a stirrup-hinge, with which the gate is moored t0 the posts.

My invention also consists in the arrangemerit,construction,orcornbinationot'thcmeans employed, as will be hereinafter set forth or claimed.

ln the'annexed drawings, the letter A represents a panel or a section of a flood gate or fence, which is provided with upper and lower rails, B U. The lower rail, 0, is provided at each end with metallic stirrups D I), which are slotted vertically or diagonally. Through these slots pass pins or other suitable fastening devices, which are secured to the posts at a su'fticient distance from the base of said posts to allow the slots to play upon the pins vertically. The stirrnps D vI), if desired, may be made very heavy, and will, when so constructed, give additional weight to the gate, when it will require a greater height or force in the stream to displace the gate. The upper rails, I are cutaway, so as to form an incline, which is of about the thickness of the rail, and extends from the front of the gate upwardly. These inclines in the rail fit into correspond- Renewcd July 22, 188'2. (ModeL) ing inclines in the upper part of the post, and are at a sufficient height from the pins and stirrups D D, by which the gate is secured to the posts, so as to allow the whole weight of the gate to rest upon the upper part of the post or within this bearin The inclines in the posts are provided at their front or lower part. with an upright continuation of the fence or gate post, which will prevent the gate being dis 'rlaced from the rear. The other side or back of the incline in the post is rounded, so that the rail will slide easily over it when beingplaccd in position. YVhcn the tenccorgatc is in an upright position its whole weight rests within the inclines at the upper part of the posts, and is prevented from displacement at the bottom by the pins within the slots in the stirrups.

In case of a flood, when the water in the stream has risen to a sufticientheight to overcome the weight of the gate, by buoying the gate upwardly it will raise the upper barot' the gate out of the lock upon the upper rail and post, thus allowing the gate or panel to swing down, and giving a free passage to the water.

In case the gate is built of heavy material, which will not be easily affected by the buoyancy of the water, the gate will be operated by the cnrrentot the stream, which will,when the water reaches a snfficicnt height, press against the panel, and by pressure raise the rail out of the lock. The weights are for the purpose of approximately adjustingthc weight of the gate to overcome a certain pressure of the water and prevent the gate from tripping or falling.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a flood-fence, the combination of the section A, having the ends of the lower rail, 0, provided with the metallic slotted stirrups D I), and the posts with pins or journals working devire for sustaining the sections, as set forth.

2. Afiood-gatc provided with slotted hinges or stirr-ups, which serve the double purpose of a mooring device and a weight for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSIE ALEXANDER CLARK.

Witnesses:

W. W. DUNBAR, M. O. RIcKEY.

ing in the slots of the stirrups, and the lock- 

